Buster adventure stories

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 29 Sep 2007, 10:35

Buster adventure stories

Look at Buster and Jet for example there are some cool adventure strips and mixed in with fun comic pages...

Zargo man of mystery another villain in comics to follow (Us British love the underdog the loveable rogue)..is great he hypnoties himself and gains a gift for awhile by looking in a mirror...he knows it works when the mirror cracks (I think in a z crack!) He could be a tightrope walker, prize fighter...hope Albion will collect these together..

Fishboy is drawn very well another favourite

Drifter long the football wanderer is a cartoony adventure story who was very superstitious

World-wide Wheelers cycling around the world on Penny Farthings! which could happen today many people do crazy stunts like this today..

an advert for Kit Carter's Clarks Commandos...

also an advert for Sammy Gale's Subbuteo superstars the soccer team of the seventies...adverts were mini adventure stories..

Galaxus the thing for outer space is good fun...

The astounding adventures of Charlie Peace another top one

So some nice adventure stories and mixed in with work from Reg Parlett...Ken Reid...Leo Baxendale

Muffy · Post by **Muffy** » 01 Oct 2007, 14:39

As you know Peter I loved Marney the fox.

When I was a 6/7 year old girl, I really didn't like the adventure stories, preferring the humour strips, until I was about 11 and then I re-read them with a greater appreciation.

I really liked the 'Runaways' especially with Joe Colquohon's artwork, but missed quite a few episodes in the later 70s, and Charlie Peace is much more readable now - I hated this story aged 6. Though 'Galaxus' should have stayed in outer space

I liked Billy Farmer's (leopard from Lime St) denim jacket so much, aged 11, I got mum to buy me one, and wore my 'friend of cheeky' badge on it.

How lacking in cool is that for 2007

tolworthy · Post by **tolworthy** » 02 Oct 2007, 08:08

Ah, Galactus and Charlie Peace were my favorites! But I was young.

The adventure strips gave the comic depth and quality, like text only strips. IMO, the comedy-only comics felt shallow in comparison, though it all depended on the quality of the strips of course.

Funny thing was, I also liked Marvel Superheroes, so strips like Leopard (and Billy the Cat in the Beano) always felt a bit embarrassing to me. In the same way, American humour comics seemed very dull. Horses for courses I guess.

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 27 Jan 2009, 20:02

Brought this topic back to the top..

What were your favourites?

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 27 Jan 2009, 20:55

Galaxus was always rather good.

It was before my time reading the comic, but I'm very fond of the eccentric Crabbe's Crusaders: gadget-master Professor Crabbe on his uncharted island sending his team of four orphan boys out on adventures in the giant crab-like Crabbocraft. I discovered this strip as reprints in the 1977 Frankie Stein Annual. Lovely art by Carlos Cruz.

Sam's City Jungle was also a nice but very shortlived strip. Also, though I haven't read it for many years, I recall the long-running Pete's Pocket Army being a consistently very solid strip, with great Lopez art.

If I could have one strip complete and collected in book form though, it would probably be Crabbe's Crusaders.

stevezodiac · Post by **stevezodiac** » 27 Jan 2009, 21:15

I grew up in Rotherhithe SE London and my parents were born there so I was thrilled when Charlie Peace mentioned Rotherhithe once. Also I work for the Met Police and have visited the Black Museum and actually seen Charlie's violin case and collapsable ladder. By day he would carry his violin and busk for money, but by night he would replace the violin with a collapsable ladder and go out burgling. Yes he really did exist.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 27 Jan 2009, 21:24

stevezodiac wrote:I grew up in Rotherhithe SE London and my parents were born there so I was thrilled when Charlie Peace mentioned Rotherhithe once. Also I work for the Met Police and have visited the Black Museum and actually seen Charlie's violin case and collapsable ladder. By day he would carry his violin and busk for money, but by night he would replace the violin with a collapsable ladder and go out burgling. Yes he really did exist.

Yes, although I really enjoyed the Charlie Peace strip it struck me as odd that Buster had turned a burglar and murderer into a slapstick clown.

More info on the real Charlie Peace here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Peace

Lew

STARBOY · Post by **STARBOY** » 27 Jan 2009, 21:50

I really enjoyed the Adventure strips in Buster during my time as a reader of the comic (1967 - 1972) - In addition to the strips mentioned (Galaxus, Fishboy Crabbes Crusaders etc) one of my favourites was Martins (or Marvins) Marvelous Multi Gun great art and story (and seemed based on th etop aspirational toy of that time the Johny Seven - which none of my pals families could afford) - I also remeber a strip called Roamin Jones )(great art again - possibly the same artist as Multi Gun) about a Space cowboy and George and the Dragon (again same artist? - this his name was Cruz?) I also use dot like Nutty Slack the Gentle Giant (a wreslter) and a stroip called the Toys of doom (I may be getting this mixed up with House of Dollman in Valliant but sure there was a strip in Buster where the villain the Toyman/Toymaker was involved (think there were sequels as well) - great comic (and some great humour strips as well.

STARBOY · Post by **STARBOY** » 27 Jan 2009, 21:50

oops sorry sent the above message twice in error sorry (edited it out to add this slightly

comment ) Although I loved the Buster Adventure strips (see above) I was never a big fan of 2 of adventure strips - the Skid Kidds (which seemed to run forever ) and Thunderbolt a superhero strip.

Kremmen · Post by **Kremmen** » 28 Jan 2009, 10:59

STARBOY wrote:In addition to the strips mentioned (Galaxus, Fishboy Crabbes Crusaders etc) one of my favourites was Martins (or Marvins) Marvelous Multi Gun great art and story (and seemed based on th etop aspirational toy of that time the Johny Seven - which none of my pals families could afford)

Wasn't it Mickey Marvel's Multi-Gun, which started in the first merged issue of Buster and Giggle in 1968?

I always wanted Johnny Seven, but the nearest I got was a Martian Screaming Missile Launcher, which had a grenade launcher, a flying saucer launcher and the screaming missile launcher all in one gun!

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 28 Jan 2009, 11:30

The 'Toys of Doom' certainly did feature a villain called the Toymaker and lots of moody art from, mostly, Solano Lopez. Nutty Slack was the Gentle Grappler seeing as he was a wrestler and illustrated by first-rate sporting comic adventure strip artist Doug Maxted who also drew Legges Eleven in Valiant and His Sporting Lordship in Smash.
Best Buster adventure strip of all though without doubt was Maxwell Hawke the ghost-hunter 1961-1967 multiple issue spooky stories drawn till late 1966 by the incomparable Eric Bradbury.

steelclaw · Post by **steelclaw** » 28 Jan 2009, 13:33

Of course everyone will know that the last Adventure strip to appear in Buster was "The Leopard from Lime St.

felneymike · Post by **felneymike** » 28 Jan 2009, 14:06

Lew Stringer wrote:
stevezodiac wrote:I grew up in Rotherhithe SE London and my parents were born there so I was thrilled when Charlie Peace mentioned Rotherhithe once. Also I work for the Met Police and have visited the Black Museum and actually seen Charlie's violin case and collapsable ladder. By day he would carry his violin and busk for money, but by night he would replace the violin with a collapsable ladder and go out burgling. Yes he really did exist.
Yes, although I really enjoyed the Charlie Peace strip it struck me as odd that Buster had turned a burglar and murderer into a slapstick clown.

More info on the real Charlie Peace here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Peace

Lew

Charles Peace also featured in Penny Dreadfuls in the 1880's and 90's. Alongside other loveable characters such as Dick Turpin and Blackbeard.

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 28 Jan 2009, 16:39

This scan comes from one of my favourite periods in Buster's run when the front cover was split between a strip starring Buster himself and a scene from one of the adventure stories within. Many of these were drawn by Eric Bradbury, who'd also provided similar covers for the final issues of Knockout and would later do so for IPC's relaunched Smash! - IMHO nobody else could make you quite so desperate to find out what happened next by buying the comic!

The adventure stories I remember best tended to be drawn by Buster's outstanding triumvirate of action artists: Mike Western ('Frozen Summer', 'The Creeping Peril', 'The Shrinker', 'The Dome of Doom', 'The Leopard from Lime Street'), Solano Lopez ('The Drowned World', 'The Toys of Doom', 'Galaxus'), and of course Bradbury himself ('Maxwell Hawke', 'Mike Kane, Gladiator', 'Back-Tracker Jack' and the reprinted 'Peril From Below'). Particularly in the early years these tended to be very similar in style and scope to the Wyndhamesque 'World Catastrophe' tales that had been popularized by DC Thomson in titles like Topper and Beezer (which the original Buster closely resembled!).

- Phil Rushton

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 28 Jan 2009, 18:42

Phil thanks for the scan.I've used it for my blog with credit and link..

I love to see your comic collection! thanks for so many great scans you show here..

Loved to see Drowned world...if you can show a scan of a whole story...it would be nice to compare with the great flood of London in The Beano..

Kashgar gave info on it before..sea aliens want to turn the earth into a sea world..
Early Busters hardly ever come up on ebay..
I have a few 1960 Busters..1 1961 Buster....then 2 1966 Busters.so missing a lot of things..

Comics UK